The festival is starting a little later this year; last year's 15-day fest started on Sept. 22.

The film festival, which announced this year's dates Wednesday, said it will open the call for entries later this month.

The 2016 edition of the Milwaukee Film Festival saw attendance jump nearly 8.5%, to 76,899, with 87 sold-out screenings. In all, 283 movies were shown at five venues around town at the 2016 festival. (Disclaimer: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was a premier sponsor of the 2016 Milwaukee Film Festival.)